When Sustainability & Public Policy Collide

I often say that if companies aren’t having focused discussions and making smart decisions about the sustainability of the packaging they are manufacturing and using, then public policymakers might make those sustainability decisions for them – and the companies might not like some of those decisions. Flexible packaging is in a unique situation as it is one of the most environmentally sustainable packaging types for product-to-package ratio and source reduction; transportation efficiency; water and energy consumption; and food waste and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. But circularity options for flexible packaging currently remain limited. There is no single solution that can be applied to all communities when it comes to the best way to collect, sort, and process flexible packaging. Viability is influenced by existing equipment and infrastructure; material collection methods and rates; volume and mix; and demand for recovered materials. Mono-material flexible packaging, which is approximately half of the flexible packaging waste generated, can be mechanically recycled, primarily through store drop-off programs. The other half of flexible packaging waste can be used to generate new feedstock through non-mechanical recycling technologies such as pyrolysis and gasification.

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